More than 40 higher education institutions are based in the capital, but that has not deterred others from setting up outposts in the city in recent years. A dozen universities based elsewhere in the UK have established campuses in London, with more planning to follow.

One person in five who receives university education becomes a millionaire, according to official figures. Twenty per cent of all adults who hold at least one university degree — more than two million people — now have wealth totalling at least £1 million, data from the Office for National Statistics show

Many of the day-to-day features and processes of present-day Russia and the CIS have their roots in Soviet times. Amongst these is the strong – but different in many ways from Western models – Higher Education system, and also still the significant cultural detachment and closedness.